Chapter 105 The next morning, in the corridor…

The next morning, the corridor lights were still on, but the light from outside had thinly crept onto the windowsill.

Ye Yuying woke up very early, as if some invisible hand had pulled her out of her dream.

Perhaps because she got up too early, she felt groggy as she carried her schoolbag downstairs. Normally, she would just grab some congee from the kitchen in the morning and a brown sugar bun, eating as she walked until she reached the bus stop, where she would swallow the last bite.

The kitchen is quiet today; the housekeepers should have finished breakfast and gone to work.

Steam swirls above the mouth of the white porcelain pot, like a gentle serpent.

She picked up the spoon, and as soon as she scooped up the first spoonful of porridge, she saw a few finely chopped shreds of ginger and a pinch of salt in a small dish next to the pot. She was taken aback; this dish wasn't usually served.

The auntie in charge of cooking doesn't seem to make much savory porridge.

Very light footsteps came from behind.

"Good morning." Cheng Mingdu stood on the other side of the counter, his shirt sleeves rolled up to mid-arms. He lifted the pot lid and said casually, "This is something I made myself. Would you like to try some?"

I didn't have an appetite today; I was just planning to grab a cup of soy milk.

She observed Cheng Mingdu's words and actions with considerable surprise, seemingly having long forgotten when she last ate the rice balls he made himself. That was four years ago, when she had just arrived at this family.

She didn't know if Cheng Mingdu had grown taller over the years, but she had only grown two centimeters in the past few years. She still felt that Cheng Mingdu's slender figure was the kind of height that required her to look up at him, just like before.

It turns out that there's no noticeable difference between two centimeters.

While her mind was filled with all sorts of random thoughts, her mouth hummed in agreement before she could even finish the sentence.

The savory porridge contained some shredded chicken and chopped greens, with some shellfish at the bottom. The steam rose up, and the light saltiness first suppressed the sweetness of the brown sugar steamed bun, gradually warming my stomach.

Her stomach, which had been feeling a bit uncomfortable, seemed to feel better instantly. She wondered if it was because the stomach is considered an emotional organ.

Whenever Cheng Mingdu and she appeared in the same space, she would have a strange feeling, a mixture of pleasure and something unreal.

Her cheeks felt hot from the steam, so she quickly buried her head and focused on drinking the porridge.

He swallowed the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl, took a half-eaten brown sugar steamed bun, and slung his schoolbag over his shoulder.

"It might rain tonight, did you bring an umbrella?" he added, as if he were talking to any normal family member.

She nodded, somewhat at a loss, without turning around.

The wind at the entrance was a bit colder than she had imagined, and the night dew in the courtyard was still wet, with a sliver of dim light seeping through the cracks in the stone steps.

*

It rained after school that day, just as expected.

Ye Yuying looked up at the rain falling from the sky, reached out and caught some in her hand. The fine raindrops connected her palm with the pale sky.

Only then did she realize that Cheng Mingdu had given her instructions before she left, but she was too nervous to follow them and could only give a hasty reply, even though the side pocket of her schoolbag was empty.

She didn't bring an umbrella at all.

Lin Manyin held an umbrella and kindly escorted her to the station. She originally wanted her family's driver to take her home, but Ye Yuying politely declined.

Because the Cheng family is so famous in Rongcheng, Lin Manyin's parents probably have some connection with them. Thinking back to those harsh words she heard in junior high school, she instinctively felt a sense of fear about these things.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Lin Manyin, but rather that she genuinely wanted to sever ties with the Cheng family.

That was Jiang Xinxue's home, Cheng Mingdu's home, but not her home.

On the bus, with the heating on full blast as early winter approached, her stomach was still upset all day, so much so that she didn't eat lunch.

She was dozing off in the swaying train carriage. Before falling asleep, she kept her eyes open and sent a message to her aunt:

"Auntie, it's raining in Chengdu today. How is it where you are?"

After sending the message, she closed her eyes, leaned back in her seat, and fell asleep. The bus arrived at the stop, and the rain continued to fall steadily, its sound calm and serene.

She got out of the car and walked quickly along the sidewalk, water dripping from her bangs onto her eyelashes and melting away in the blink of an eye.

When she got home, her coat and backpack were half-soaked with sweat, but her mood actually lightened a bit.

After the start of senior year, the teachers not only cared about everyone's studies, but also about their health, reminding them not to get sick at such a crucial time as the college entrance examination approached. However, this rain gave her a brief sense of relief.

I let myself walk into this cold, thin curtain of rain.

Her stomach was still aching slightly, but she returned to the Cheng family home in a lighthearted mood, soaked to the bone. However, she found that the Cheng family home seemed somewhat different from usual today.

The inner quarters were eerily quiet. The servants stood in the corridors, heads bowed, trying to keep their breathing as still as possible.

She paused, wiped the water from her face, and was about to head to the attic when a woman's voice came from the other end of the tea room: "Ye Yuying, come here for a moment."

That familiar voice froze Ye Yuying in place, a chill running from her head to her toes.

The familiar opening remarks made her think she might have done something wrong, but in the less than twenty steps into the tea room, she couldn't figure out what she had done wrong.

Jiang Xinxue sat in the main seat, with a scroll of ink painting hanging behind her, featuring a few desolate orchid leaves.

On the low table was a set of Yixing teapots, the lids open, steam rising, the aroma of tea bitter. On the corner of the table sat an empty cup, a tea stain on the rim, like a deliberately left stroke.

Despite the Zen-like atmosphere, she felt an oppressive aura emanating from the scene before her.

"Close the door." Jiang Xinxue glanced at her and spoke, her brows furrowed as if she were contemplating something.

The moment the door closed, it was as if the air inside the room was also shut out, turning the tea room into a torture chamber.

Ye Yuying stood by the door, water dripping from her temples to her collar, then down her collarbone, onto the floor, dripping slowly.

Jiang Xinxue glanced at her, her smile barely perceptible: "Walking home in the rain, quite carefree, huh?" She tapped the table impatiently and said sternly, "Stand over here."

Ye Yuying walked over slowly, her back straight and her hands hanging at her sides.

As soon as Jiang Xinxue raised her hand, Ye Yuying, who had anticipated this, dodged backward. However, the newly made extended nails still scratched a mark on her cheek. It was very shallow and did not bleed, but judging from the wind from the palm, Jiang Xinxue was determined to slap her today.

Ye Yuying's voice was flat, "I will never let you hit me indiscriminately again."

Ye Yuying used to only get beaten because she always thought she was wrong and her mother was never wrong.

Why? Because all textbooks sing praises of the greatness of maternal love.

She had never questioned it before, but now she's starting to doubt it.

With the college entrance exam just around the corner, her freedom was within reach. She had already thought about where she wanted to go, and in any case, it was impossible for her to stay under the same roof as Jiang Xinxue anymore.

Jiang Xinxue's expression shifted slightly, like a candle flame extinguished by the wind, and she said sarcastically, "What, you've learned to talk back?"

The leaves and the oriole remained silent.

Do you know what the family name is for this house?

"My surname is Cheng," Ye Yuying replied.

"That's good." She sneered. "Your filthy thoughts can only be covered by a thin skin. I think this is all you'll ever be. You haven't learned a thing or a decent life. You really are the offspring of that scumbag Ye Jianguo. From head to toe, you're not a single good piece of skin!"

The air had noticeably cooled down by a degree, and the only sound in the tea room was the patter of rain on the eaves.

Ye Yuying's palms felt cold, and her fingertips dug into her palms before she could steady her voice. She looked at Jiang Xinxue with considerable hostility: "What do you mean?"

The moment she asked the question, the lights in front of her seemed to be dappled by the sound of rain, and a sharp force suddenly rushed towards her.

"I really didn't expect you to have so many thoughts hidden. Ha... no wonder you suddenly rebelled. Turns out you had someone to rely on!"

Jiang Xinxue slammed her against the wall, her knuckles cold and hard, digging into her collarbone, her nails easily piercing her skin.

She had grown taller than Jiang Xinxue, but at this moment she still looked like a cement sack thrown against a wall.

She felt like she wasn't even human in front of Jiang Xinxue anymore, like a kicked-out dog, a dog that no one liked.

The woman's harsh, inflammatory voice outside my eardrums drowned out the sound of rain outside the window.

"Ye Yuying! How can you be so shameless! What did I do wrong to give birth to a monster like you! You've set your sights on Cheng Mingdu, are you trying to kill me? Of all people to like, why did you have to like Cheng Mingdu? Do you even know who he is?!"

The moment the secret was revealed intact, Ye Yuying's expression froze. She felt as if she had been pinned to the ground, her breath sealed by cement. Her face turned as white as paper, her lips faded to almost transparent, with only a faint gray ring from the rain. She felt as if all her blood had been drained away, leaving her as withered as a paper doll.

She stared wide-eyed at Jiang Xinxue, her eyes swollen and dark, a small vein on her temple throbbing slightly, even the slightest tremor suppressed beneath her skin.

"I didn't..." she denied instinctively, but couldn't hear her own voice at all.

She could hear the rain, but it sounded like it was coming through a blanket. A buzzing sound, like the ocean, rose in her ears. The world was compressed into two sounds. Her heart was beating too fast, like an accelerated clock. A heavy discomfort rose in her stomach, which she suppressed by swallowing repeatedly.

"Oh, your face is so pale from fright." Jiang Xinxue chuckled, almost pityingly patting her pale face. "Can't you even say a decent word? With your meager courage, you dare to dream under this eaves?"

Ye Yuying tried hard to pull her gaze away from those eyes, the acid in her stomach feeling like it had already reached her throat.

"You think you can hide it in a notebook and no one will know?" Jiang Xinxue scoffed softly, her fingers tightening and loosening. "Do you want me to put what you wrote out in the open and read it to Cheng Mingdu?"

"I didn't..." she finally managed to squeeze out two words, almost too soft to be heard.

She knew that Jiang Xinxue had seen it with her own eyes; she must have seen it.

"What in this house is yours?" Jiang Xinxue's smile turned completely cold, and her tone became aggressive.

"Heh...that's true, who at your age doesn't like Cheng Mingdu..."

She suddenly remembered something unpleasant, twisted her fingers around Ye Yuying's collar, and said in a low voice, "I'm already looked down upon in the Cheng family, and you're making things worse for me. Do you want us both to be kicked out together?"

"Do you want people to gossip about me behind my back, saying that a mother and daughter share a father and son? Get rid of all your filthy and disgusting thoughts, you lowlife!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door was pushed open with a loud bang.

Jiang Xinxue immediately released her hand, as if she had been burned by fire. Her expression tightened for a moment, but then she regained her composure.

Ye Yuying leaned against the wall, breathing rapidly, her chest heaving. She couldn't tell whether Jiang Xinxue was feeling guilty or simply unwilling to break free of her facade in front of others.

Cheng Mingdu stood against the light at the doorway, raindrops still dripping from the ribs of his long-handled black umbrella. The cold air emanated from him and flowed into the stuffy tea room, feeling like a blade cutting through it.

His gaze swept between the mother and daughter, finally settling on the faint scratch on Ye Yuying's cheek, made by a fingernail. His eyes darkened slightly.

He spoke, his voice low but extremely steady, "What are you doing?"

Jiang Xinxue tugged at the corners of her mouth, intending to smile, but found that she could no longer put on the mask: "It's nothing, just said a few words to her. Children don't know any better, and someone has to teach them."

She deliberately picked out some of the words, her gaze on Cheng Mingdu deepened, and finally she gave Ye Yuying a cold look.

"Teach?" Cheng Mingdu took two steps closer, his gaze turning cold. "Is this how you teach?"

The air was cooled down inch by inch.

Jiang Xinxue's face stiffened, but she still tried to maintain a firm tone: "I'm her mother, if I don't teach her, who will?"

"You've never fulfilled your responsibilities as a mother, so it's not your place to teach others," Cheng Mingdu interrupted coldly, turning to look at Ye Yuying with a resolute gaze.

Jiang Xinxue's voice continued, followed by a cold snort: "If you knew she harbored feelings for you, what could you say?"

As soon as the words were spoken, Ye Yuying felt as if her heart had been torn apart; the thing she feared most had come to pass.

She dared not look in Cheng Mingdu's direction again; at that moment, she felt like a shadowy rat.

Cheng Mingdu showed no emotion, ignoring the words and not even glancing at Jiang Xinxue for a moment. He simply kept his gaze fixed on the red mark on Ye Yuying's face and said in a flat tone, "Stand up and come with me."

Ye Yuying was stunned for a moment, as if everything had become a hallucination and an illusion.

Jiang Xinxue sneered, pressing further: "What are you pretending not to know? Have you even read what she wrote?"

"It's none of your business." Cheng Mingdu interrupted without even glancing at her. "I'll say it again, don't lay a hand on her, and don't make any personal attacks on her."

He spoke at a steady pace, and said his last sentence, "Before I make you regret it, you'd better shut up."

Jiang Xinxue's face alternated between pale and flushed, her chest heaving violently, yet she still believed the threat.

As far as I can remember, Cheng Mingdu had never said such a thing; he was indeed angry that day.

Although Cheng Mingdu is very young, he is mature enough, and he is a member of the Cheng family, with his biological mother coming from a powerful and influential clan...

She had no choice but to believe these threats.

That day, Ye Yuying almost forgot how she mustered up the courage to still follow Cheng Mingdu away after he found out.

She originally thought it was a physical departure, but in fact, that very night he had her pack her bags and left the Cheng family with her that same night.

This was a truly rebellious departure, a departure she had imagined countless times since childhood but had never actually made.

It was a departure that was completely different from Cheng Mingdu's rationality and dignity.

She knew that Cheng Mingdu did indeed have such courage, but she never knew that beneath his self-disciplined and courteous exterior lay a rebellious spirit far beyond her imagination.

So much so that, for a very brief moment, she mistakenly believed that Cheng Mingdu and she were actually the same kind of person.

That evening, she stepped into the Lakeside Villa for the first time in her life. She would spend the rest of her high school life and a long vacation in this lakeside villa.